The most iconic intimate wedding at London Chelsea Town Hall
Are you planning a micro wedding at Chelsea London Town hall? and want it to be as intimate and sentimental as possible?
Well you’d better take notes, because these two absolutely nailed it. Rose and Jack’s original wedding plans were dealt a series of hammer-blows. Covid restrictions evaporated most of their wedding funds before anyone said, ‘I do’, and by the time their day finally came around, it was their fourth attempt to get married. 180 guests had become 23, and their whole approach had had to change. But from devastating necessity flourished something beautiful, and on this magical day every guest became part of something truly special. By taking a step back from the expectations of a big wedding, Rose and Jack’s approach made everything that much more personal.
From the gorgeous bouquets and cake put together by Jack’s mum, to the reception held in Rose’s brother’s back garden, every detail of the wedding was taken care of by their family or family friends. Whenever I try and put my finger on why this was such a uniquely special day, it always comes back to that feeling that every detail sparkled with a family’s care and love. And that’s one of the things I love most about intimate weddings in general: the whole day centres around these two people coming together, the intimacy of their love for one another, and the involvement of those closest to them.
There are too many things I loved about the day to list them all. But highlights for me were the surprise firework display organised by Rose’s brothers, the champagne-fuelled photoshoot in the back of the taxi (illegal? Probably. Worth it? Definitely!), the gorgeous first dance beneath the twinkling festoon lights and the look in Rose’s brothers’ eyes as they watched them dance. And of course, Rose’s stunning and effortlessly cool vintage cream suit. I can’t talk about Rose and Jack’s wedding without telling the heartbreaking and beautiful story behind Rose’s wedding suit. But it’s not my story to tell, it’s Rose’s:
“In 1995, my mother Lisa Jane Mahoney, married my father Fredrick Walter Sheppard. A woman of great style, she wore a cream clean-cut suit with stunning embroidery detailing. Mum left this world twenty years later, leaving behind a family whose love cannot be explained. She is at the heart of all we do. Fast forward twenty five years and I, Rose-Marnie Sheppard married Jack Elliot Davies in the very same suit she married my dad in. It was my way of having her by my side, on a day I never could have imagined not having her by my side. Instead of having her sitting in front of me, her arms were wrapped around me in a metaphorical sense.”
This has got to be one of my favourite weddings I’ve ever done. And not only because it was stylish, and cool and beautiful. But because emotion, heart, family and deepest love flowed through every second of the day, every word of the ceremony, every tiny detail of the accessories. And shone through every fibre of Rose’s suit.
Photography: Rebecca Carpenter Photography
Videography: Russell Kent Nicholls
Singer: Todd Nathaniel Music
Venue: Chelsea Old Town Hall
Evening Dress: ASOS
Accessories: Xupes Lack of Colour Aus